How do you drive an automatic?
Discussion
We have two autos and a manual. Autos are both big petrol barges. Mostly remain in D unless I'll be stopped for a while. I rarely (but do) use the J-gate in the Jag. I use the sport button a lot more.
My partner doesn't ever use Sport mode or manual selection in her 320. D is as far as that shifter goes when she's driving.
The Jag has the electric parking brake which self-engages when you turn the car off and releases when you press the throttle. It will hold the car nicely in D and when the lights change the car is ready to go. The BMW has a manual lever handbrake and it is absolutely useless. All it serves to do is get in the way.
My partner doesn't ever use Sport mode or manual selection in her 320. D is as far as that shifter goes when she's driving.
The Jag has the electric parking brake which self-engages when you turn the car off and releases when you press the throttle. It will hold the car nicely in D and when the lights change the car is ready to go. The BMW has a manual lever handbrake and it is absolutely useless. All it serves to do is get in the way.
jamei303 said:
The Asin torque converter box in my Volvo goes into neutral by itself when you're stationary in "Drive" (D is still selected but you can hear and feel it go to neutral).
Ah so that's why mine feels different if I stop for a longer period of time 
I noticed that if I pull away again within a few seconds, it's instant but if its say a minute or so, there is slack to be taken up when I lift off the brake thanks!
Dodsy said:
Why can't an auto be towed? I once had to be recovered and the breakdown guy on the phone asked if the car was a manual or an auto because autos can't be towed. Why? Surely an auto in "N" is the same as a manual in neutral.
My Jag is RWD as i understand it the diff oil pump is driven by the prop so towing in N means no lubricant flow in the diff which damages it . No idea about FWD Edited by Dodsy on Saturday 25th June 14:29
PistonBroker said:
Slightly confused by everyone saying they just leave it in D when at lights. Are you the guys burning my retinas out with your brake lights?!
On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
A couple of Mercedes' I've had have a 'hold' function. Just apply pressure to the brake pedal when stopped and it applies the brakes even when you take your foot off the pedal. Touch the accelerator and away you go. No need for neutral at all.On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
PistonBroker said:
Slightly confused by everyone saying they just leave it in D when at lights. Are you the guys burning my retinas out with your brake lights?!
On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
Unfortunately sitting on brakes is pretty much standard for everyone at traffic lights these days.On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
AdeTuono said:
PistonBroker said:
Slightly confused by everyone saying they just leave it in D when at lights. Are you the guys burning my retinas out with your brake lights?!
On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
A couple of Mercedes' I've had have a 'hold' function. Just apply pressure to the brake pedal when stopped and it applies the brakes even when you take your foot off the pedal. Touch the accelerator and away you go. No need for neutral at all.On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
valiant said:
Weld your left foot to the footrest unless you fancy headbutting the windscreen.
Or take a little time and care on a deserted road to learn left foot braking. I did, and a couple of years later the skill has allowed me to continue driving despite issues with sciatic nerve injury.
Dodsy said:
3:
Why can't an auto be towed? I once had to be recovered and the breakdown guy on the phone asked if the car was a manual or an auto because autos can't be towed. Why? Surely an auto in "N" is the same as a manual in neutral.
My Jag is RWD as i understand it the diff oil pump is driven by the prop so towing in N means no lubricant flow in the diff which damages it . No idea about FWD Why can't an auto be towed? I once had to be recovered and the breakdown guy on the phone asked if the car was a manual or an auto because autos can't be towed. Why? Surely an auto in "N" is the same as a manual in neutral.
Edited by Dodsy on Saturday 25th June 14:29
thatdude said:
Or take a little time and care on a deserted road to learn left foot braking.
I did, and a couple of years later the skill has allowed me to continue driving despite issues with sciatic nerve injury.
Take it even further by emulating the *late/great/opinionated/deluded LJK Setright - Cross your legs and brake with your right and accelerate with your left. I did, and a couple of years later the skill has allowed me to continue driving despite issues with sciatic nerve injury.
Deserted road mind.
- delete as appropriate.
D is for daytime driving
N is for night time driving
R is race mode but I can only get it to go backwards in Race mode
1 is for when you’re in lane 1 of a motorway (the slow lane)
2 is for lane 2 when no one is in lane 1
3 is for Lane 3 the Fast Lane
Don’t understand how it can be so difficult for some people
N is for night time driving
R is race mode but I can only get it to go backwards in Race mode
1 is for when you’re in lane 1 of a motorway (the slow lane)
2 is for lane 2 when no one is in lane 1
3 is for Lane 3 the Fast Lane
Don’t understand how it can be so difficult for some people
Smint said:
Yet others of us who've had them, proper TC autos that is, since 1973 and currently 3 x TC autos on the drive (have had multiple manual cars in the meantime), have never had a single auto transmission failure, and all except 1 of these was and is a well used older example, but all have seen sensible oil change intervals.
I have however avoided any and all VW/Audi autos which might explain why.
Like all other parts using an oil, now and again the oil needs changing, most of the failures i read and hear about are on the newer mutilple clutch or automated manual boxes or CVT's, even Toyota couldn't get the automated manual to be reliable but their CVT appears to be the most reliable out there, as one might expect though the competition is nothing to write home about.
TC auto box failures tend to be on those boxes labelled or said to be sealed for life, which is utter cobblers, neglect kills them just like any mechanical device.
The odd thing is that in trucks automated manuals have proved to be very reliable, well over 1 million miles of hard work in most cases before any issues arise.
Incompetent people behind the wheel could wreck manual gearboxes and especially clutches in short order, more so since synchro boxes became a thing (the incompetent couldn't and wouldn't cope with a constant mesh box), the automated manual boxes have protected the engine and whole drivetrain especially the clurtch from those who can't drive.
TC boxes don't really exist in trucks except in specialist roles, ie Terberg shunters and refuse wagons where close maneuvering is most of the work performed.
How come those automanual boxes are dependable and long lived in trucks but a ££££ gamble in cars.
The sealed for life statements are daft - sealed for the warranty period more like! It's even more daft when the likes of ZF state a service interval!I have however avoided any and all VW/Audi autos which might explain why.
Like all other parts using an oil, now and again the oil needs changing, most of the failures i read and hear about are on the newer mutilple clutch or automated manual boxes or CVT's, even Toyota couldn't get the automated manual to be reliable but their CVT appears to be the most reliable out there, as one might expect though the competition is nothing to write home about.
TC auto box failures tend to be on those boxes labelled or said to be sealed for life, which is utter cobblers, neglect kills them just like any mechanical device.
The odd thing is that in trucks automated manuals have proved to be very reliable, well over 1 million miles of hard work in most cases before any issues arise.
Incompetent people behind the wheel could wreck manual gearboxes and especially clutches in short order, more so since synchro boxes became a thing (the incompetent couldn't and wouldn't cope with a constant mesh box), the automated manual boxes have protected the engine and whole drivetrain especially the clurtch from those who can't drive.
TC boxes don't really exist in trucks except in specialist roles, ie Terberg shunters and refuse wagons where close maneuvering is most of the work performed.
How come those automanual boxes are dependable and long lived in trucks but a ££££ gamble in cars.
Edited by Smint on Sunday 26th June 11:13
Missy Charm said:
That would explain why modern cars are so easy to beat at the lights, I suppose. Even worse are the stop and start ones. By the time Mr I Earn £60,000 Before Tax's posh BMW has started its engine, selected a gear and moved off, my old heap is some distance up the road. Progress, eh.
You didn't mention PCP....must try harder.Every day a journey said:
D is for daytime driving
N is for night time driving
Don’t understand how it can be so difficult for some people
Famous 'complaint' to BMWN is for night time driving
Don’t understand how it can be so difficult for some people
https://youtu.be/3S3mzAzOl6o
Missy Charm said:
That would explain why modern cars are so easy to beat at the lights, I suppose. Even worse are the stop and start ones. By the time Mr I Earn £60,000 Before Tax's posh BMW has started its engine, selected a gear and moved off, my old heap is some distance up the road. Progress, eh.
Depends if the modern cars has AWD and launch control. And the stop/start can usually be turned off.Missy Charm said:
That would explain why modern cars are so easy to beat at the lights, I suppose. Even worse are the stop and start ones. By the time Mr I Earn £60,000 Before Tax's posh BMW has started its engine, selected a gear and moved off, my old heap is some distance up the road. Progress, eh.
Well yeah, the modern car isn't sitting at the traffic lights polluting the environment for zero output. Multiply that by thousands and there's a measurable difference in urban pollution.Missy Charm said:
That would explain why modern cars are so easy to beat at the lights, I suppose. Even worse are the stop and start ones. By the time Mr I Earn £60,000 Before Tax's posh BMW has started its engine, selected a gear and moved off, my old heap is some distance up the road. Progress, eh.
Perhaps they didn't know they had entered a race.PistonBroker said:
Slightly confused by everyone saying they just leave it in D when at lights. Are you the guys burning my retinas out with your brake lights?!
On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
Not ‘everyone’, I did not say that. Your apology is accepted in advance.On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
Missy Charm said:
That would explain why modern cars are so easy to beat at the lights, I suppose. Even worse are the stop and start ones. By the time Mr I Earn £60,000 Before Tax's posh BMW has started its engine, selected a gear and moved off, my old heap is some distance up the road. Progress, eh.
Wrong. As you take your foot off the brake pedal, the engine has started before you press the throttle. Most BMWs are auto now. Next.PistonBroker said:
Slightly confused by everyone saying they just leave it in D when at lights. Are you the guys burning my retinas out with your brake lights?!
On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
So you're not slightly confused at all.On the rare occasions I drive our CVT MINI, I put it in N and put the handbrake on at lights. Like I do in the two manual cars we have.
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